Originally Posted by Bantam All the companies that used to make killer 'cocker stuff and never evolved enough are closing down. RIP KAPP (they had a hott model!) and RIP Freeflow.

I belive it has more to do with the Walmartization of the industry. With the growth of the sport larger companies like K2 have stepped in and bought out several companies allowing them to make products faster and cheaper. The drawback to this is that the little guy has a tough time matching the price and still make enough money to keep it profitable.
The only way we can combat this is by speaking with our wallets. Don't buy things over the internet, but rather spend that extra $10 to support your local store. Remember, they have overhead costs that many of the internet stores don't. One big cost is rent and insurance for a store and field. Secondly, if you like a product such as a phantom buy it. Mike Cassidy is one of the last of the mohicans building and selling things himself. I used to own a phantom, and while it wasn't my cup of tea it was a great gun.